The President of the Republic, António José Seguro, will be received today by the King of Spain, Felipe VI, and the head of the Spanish government, Pedro Sánchez, in Madrid, on his first official visit abroad.
António José Seguro arrived in the Spanish capital on Sunday afternoon, accompanied by his wife, Margarida Maldonado Freitas, and the Minister of State and Foreign Affairs, Paulo Rangel.
Spoke with Portuguese emigrants
During a meeting with young Portuguese people who work or study in Spain, the President of the Republic stated that “the choice of Spain is not a random choice” and that he wants to consolidate what his predecessors did to strengthen bilateral relations and multilateral cooperation, particularly within the framework of the European Union.
In terms of commercial relations, the head of state expressed his desire to see the presence of Portuguese companies grow in the Spanish market.
The President of the Republic will be received at the Royal Palace at 12:45 pm local time – one hour later than in Lisbon. The meeting of heads of state is scheduled for 1 pm, extended to delegations, and is followed by lunch hosted by the kings of Spain.
At 4:30 pm local time, António José Seguro will meet with the head of the Spanish government, Pedro Sánchez, at the Moncloa Palace.
Statements by the President of the Republic to journalists are expected later, at the residence of the Portuguese ambassador in Madrid.
President’s first visit abroad
António José Seguro took office as President of the Republic about a month and a half ago, on March 9th.
The note released by the Presidency of the Republic says that, “by choosing Spain as the destination for his first official visit outside the country, the President of the Republic highlights the ties of deep friendship, closeness and cooperation that unite Portugal and Spain and the unique nature of the bilateral relationship, which this visit seeks to consolidate and reinforce”.
The King of Spain, Felipe VI, was present at the inauguration of António José Seguro as President of the Republic.
At the beginning of his speech, in the Assembly of the Republic, the new President welcomed the presence of the Spanish monarch, to whom he declared: “Your presence honors us and reinforces the bonds of deep friendship, closeness and cooperation that unite Portugal and Spain. I know that we both prefer roads to borders”.
“Synergies that unite territories, bring people together and transform the neighborhood into a relationship of friendship and cooperation. The relationship between Portugal and Spain has demonstrated that it is possible to build lasting convergences when the desire for a shared destiny prevails. A desire that I renew here in the name of Portugal”, added António José Seguro.
His predecessor, Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa, maintained a close relationship with Felipe VI and Spain was the country he visited the most, 19 in total, including right at the beginning of his two terms, in 2016 and 2021, but he went first to the Vatican, on the same day.
On his last trip to Spain before leaving office, on February 20 of this year, the previous President of the Republic expressed his certainty that this would be his successor, António José Seguro’s first destination abroad, to “reaffirm the fraternity” between the two countries.
